Friday, November 1, 2013

No #BassemYoussef This weekend or next week, someone fears a little joke "Updated"

Doaa El Adl's latest cartoon about Bassem

And millions waited for Bassem Youssef and his show “El Bernmag” tonight and their wait was in vain because CBC network decided to cancel his episode. After few hours , the channel announced that it was going to suspend the show.
You can imagine the uproar and anger this move created among the show’s loyal fans especially from revolutionaries.
The Pro-Mubarak/Military/ElSisi fans are happy and they can not deny where as the Muslim brotherhood/Islamist fans are reminding us on how there was more freedom of expression in time of Morsi. “Despite Bassem Youssef was being sued for insulting the president as well Blasphemy”
Several political and media figures including those supporting El-Sisi are against the decision of the channel.
Bassem Youssef is already in Abu Dhabi and his mobile phone is closed. The CBC issued a statement about its decision. Here it is.

We were surprised with the media content delivered to us today in the show "al Bernmag" as it violated what was mentioned in CBC's last statement about the show.The violations show that the producer of the show and its presenter Dr. Bassem Youssef were not committed to the editorial policies of CBC channels. Being committed to CBC editorial policies was mentioned in the signed contract between us and the show producer. We drew the attention of the show's producer and its presenter after airing the last episode that they should be committed to what was issued in the channel's statement. In addition the producer did not present to the channel all the episodes of the previous season despite he received all the sums agreed in the contract and even asked for more sums in order to produce additional episodes ; the thing that is considered another violation to the contract. Thus CBC decided to suspend the show till all the technical and commercial problems are solved.

Mohamed El Amin , the CEO of CBC

So Bassem Youssef’s show is suspended till further notice !! Wow now CBC remembered that there were episodes from last season that were not presented by the producer !! I remember in one of the interviews Bassem Youssef stated that the CBC budget allocated to the show was not enough to produce such show in this way !!
I do not know how Bassem Youssef and his producer are going to work again with CBC next Week.
Well Monatesser El Zayat , the famous Islamist lawyer who is claiming to be Bassem Youssef’s lawyer “I am not sure about this” said on Al Nahar channel TV that Youssef’s contract with CBC stated that there were no restrictions what so ever on the show or its content.
According to Big Pharaoh who attended the show’s shooting last Wednesday , Bassem did not speak about about El Sisi but he rather spoke about the media reaction in Egypt about his season premiere as well Al Jazeera Channel’s media bias. Big Pharaoh also added that in the third part of the episode Bassem slammed CBC for their disgraceful statement last week.

OK since several of the people who attended the shooting are already talking, I too attended, he did bash CBC real hard.
— The Big Pharaoh (@TheBigPharaoh) November 1, 2013

In the episode, Basem Yousef did not touch Sisi. He did bash CBC and expose its double standards.
— The Big Pharaoh (@TheBigPharaoh) November 1, 2013

Some journalists are quoting military sources that the army had nothing to do with suspending the show. People are attacking CBC on its official Facebook. Also another group of angry viewers made a Facebook page calling the people to erase the channel from their receivers in solidarity with Bassem Youssef. Our former vice President also commented about the suspension of the show.

The freedom of expression is the mother of all freedoms. If it is only limited to those who we agree with then it is an empty slogan. It is bravery to defend it and not to suppress it. Respect and appreciation to Bassem Youssef.

Of course people are attacking ElBaradei as usual claiming that he neglected all the problems of Egypt and cared only for a silly TV show. It is not about a silly TV show I am afraid but rather freedom of expression.
Thanks to CBC’s hypocrisy days before Morsi’s trial , the military will find themselves in a deep shit internationally. Already AP and Reuters have run stories in no time on how the world famous satirist was cancelled. Now people are comparing on how there were more freedoms in time of Morsi when there is none in time of the interim government aka in time of El-Sisi as now comparisons are being done in real time in social media. Now the world will see what happened in Egypt as a coup more and more , no PR company will help whitewashing your tarnished the interim government. The Muslim brotherhood internationally is thanking Mohamed El Amin and the CBC morons for this golden opportunity to prove that Morsi was much more welcoming to opposite views !!
I am already waiting for John Stewart and his two cents about his friend in Egypt. It is enough that Reem Magued is absent and now Bassem Youssef’s show is cancelled this weekend , I wonder what will happen to Yosri Fouda when he returns to ONTV later this month !! Updated on 3/11 : The Egyptian presidency says that it has nothing to do with the decision of the channel as it is an internal decision of CBC. Bassem Youssef's crew issued a statement and comparing to that scandalous statement of CBC , it is very reasonable. According to the statement that was published in the official Facebook page , the show's crew members were not notified that the channel suspended the show and they knew the news just like anyone else in Egypt from TV.

The statement also stressed that the show's production company "Qsoft" had abided to the agreements with CBC contrary what the channel claimed. Nevertheless the show's crew announced that it would not make any further statements to the media for fear it would harm "the company's position". Knowning the deep shit they made the CBC is trying to play nice now , its TV hosts issued a statement claiming that they were standing with Bassem !!

12 comments
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So much for freedom of speech and all that. I guess this time around Arabs can't claim they don't like their Mubaraks and Ben Ali's though, it took them about 2 years to go crawling back to the old order. Before I had always sympathized with Arab plight under dictatorship but now I am struggling to feel anything but contempt. You get the government you deserve, apparently. Maybe the Ikhwan will find time to give you Arab "liberals" democracy lessons, if you ask nicely. You'll both have plenty of time in your shared prison cells, if the military government thinks liberals important enough to bother arresting.

Mr. Walker the Ikhwan defender, have you any clue who their masters are? Same question applies re; "Hamas"' HizbouAllah", and the Khomeini group" The main objectives are keeping the Middle East "Arabs" backward , ignorant, and strive for help. Just Keep them under Higab/Niquab and ignore education, industry, economy, tourism and culture. It is so sad that Nasser's time looks way too good compare to what Egypt today !!!!

Maybe when you learn something about your own damn region besides some TV agitprop you can talk to me about politics. Go play in the garden.

@ Anonymous no 2

I'm something of an Arabist, actually. I've studied Arabic for 4 years here in the US and have spend a good deal of time advocating for Arab causes, particularly Palestine. Yet this coup has been deeply embittering. I speak this way because I actually care and I'm angry and ashamed. Not that I am alone, all the many Arabs I've talked to here despise the Sisi regime and many say harsher things than I.

In short, I've spent too much time defending Arab's ability to act in a civilized way and be democratic not to be upset when you start acting like the caricature Islamophobes like to present you as. How am I supposed to say Palestinians or Arabs deserve freedoms when they come out in the millions to cheer on leaders who execute and torture them for dissent and celebrate their loss of freedoms? Every one of these willing slaves is a disgrace to his race, religion and species. It's probably not helpful but I'm venting since I feel angry, betrayed and disappointed.

I don't think Mr. Walker 4 Yrs study of Arabic culture are enough to nurture your brain with what happened in the ME n the last 40+ years and what they are heading for. To give you some examples; 1) Nasser wanted to introduce technologies and spread education, the 1967 war killed his plan. 2)The shah of Iran in the early seventies decided to modernize Iran and not keeping it dependant on oil industry only (e.g. he was planning to build nuclear power stations, add other technologies, ..etc) they brought Khomeini back from exile in France and the rest is history. Then 3) Saddam Hussein made Iraq the most technically advancing nation in the region , then Bush fake drama about Iraq nuclear weapons ambition came to bring back Iraq 40 years backward. Do you need more examples ?? expand your studies beyond simple current books , dig deeper of the middle east events post WWII till present..

I know about all these leaders. Clearly more than you do if you think they were economically or politically successful leaders. Or think that nuclear weapons had anything to do with the 1991 war, that was the invasion of Kuwait. Some of the sanctions were but most were not. Nor was the nuclear program fake before 1991. Or think I don't realize that the IRI was far more successful at diversifying Iran's economy than the Shah. Or that Nasser and gang failed to produce a modern economy, whatever his 'plans' were. Or that Saddam was a Stalinist who brutally mistreated his people. And let's look at the secular hero Assad. If getting back under the comfy heel of a dictator who will have your balls ripped off for speaking your mind is what you want to go back to, go back. It's not my country or my culture or my problem. But I'm done crying for you.

And "secularism" is not nearly as important a sine qua non for democracy as having elections (yes, in a democracy elections do mean something) as well as not massacring your political rivals. That's something the MB seems to understand better than you. We have a religious/secular divide in the US too and if we killed each as happily and readily as you do, well, our country might be a shithole like yours. As long as you care more about destroying Islam more than democracy or the lives of your fellow citizens or your countries economy, well, you'll fit in nicely with your fellow coup supports like Netenyahu, Daniel Pipes and Geert Wilders. Enjoy your Cultural Revolution. I'm done with you.

David Walker, do you think comments about "Arabs" are helpful to anyone? Do you routinely refer to Africans in this way, too? Are you equally pejorative about "Europeans" when you disagree with political developments in one European country or another?

This is terrible. I hope that Bassem uses the internet as the platform to broadcast his "Bernameg" again and indeed this is happening in the US where some of the best shows are now internet based as "Breaking bad" and people are really watching and he can use Netflix and I'm sure there will be audience and make money. Egyptian TV is still far behind because young people in the west are not watching the old TV anymore and what they are watching is internet based Also Bassem has the likes of his friend Jon Stewart and I'm sure he is watching and we have no heard the end of itWhat a shame but again Egypt is not ready for democracy or freedom of speech

Am I the only one that thinks that something smells really fishy (Dirty Deal) between Army and Al-Watan newspaper ie. Mohamed Al- Amin (owner of CBC). They release the Morsy tapes exclusively to him which I think is a scandal on its own and he stops Bassem Youssef. The Mubarak and Adly tapes from the prison were shameful leaks but understandable given the MOI. But leaks from the army from a place so sensitive and while Ashton is visiting!! How come no one thinks that endangers national security!! seriously!!

Hey yo Walker: Democracy Muslim Brotherhood style? Are you that clueless? leaders of the criminal and terrorist MB made it very clear that democracy is like a slipper that you wear when you go to bathroom

Mr ignorant voting does not mean that there is democracy after all even Hitler got to power through the process of voting when millions of Germans voted for him and the rest is history and Muhammad Morsi did not get an absolute vote majority (versus percentage majority)

Plus Mr Einstein democracy pre-supposes secularism and because there is no secularism in political Islam therefore the MB could not have been a party based on democracy

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